Re: [NTLK] Linux on Newton 2100?

From: Jeff Sheldon (jeff_at_jurai.net)
Date: Sun Sep 15 2002 - 21:56:38 PDT


On Sat, 14 Sep 2002, Will Leingang wrote:

> Funny you mention ITSY, most of linux development I've done in the past
> has been that of getting an ITSY system built.

Not too shabby. I find this relevant to the Newton by far. How did you
pull off the PCB work and were there specific software packages needed to
do that? I can't recall what format(s) the various ITSY fabrication files
were in.

> everything I needed from an iPaq 3600, by running lead wires from the
> Newton's rom to my iPaqs, this was of course an amateurs mistake, as the
> hardware was in no way similar. It was a rush approach, to a delicate task.

Egad! You're either very brave or very insane :)

> I think I overloaded the Sharp ROM by not properly securing one of the
> leads.

Doh. I ripped apart one of my 2100s and feel compelled to start a project
of mapping out the internals (hardware) as best that I can. As more time
passes, what little info there is may become less available. I don't know
that I want to deconstruct a working one, so I may buy a completely dead
one when one becomes available. That way I can strip the boards bare and
make proper digital layouts. I may start off with linue images, but I'd
like to eventually head towards more formal "production quality" formats.

> further development. I'm as of yet unfamiliar with any interface on the
> Newton that could be hacked to accommodate this. Because Apple has

That and some sort of support for the Newt's lovely Cyrix nonsense that's
been annoying a lot of people.

> specs out of the developer support archives. After all, if it is a
> "dead" product, Apple shouldn't be afraid of assisting open-source
> Newton development. Wink Wink, Nod Nod...

I believe this has been tried before, but Apple's being really tight
lipped about the whole thing. It's safe to assume that's a dead end.
The closest we've had to any inside help has been through the Ex-NOSE.

> It would be nice to put a few heads together on this, possibly even come
> up with a newton linux project team. For now though, I'm going to
> continue to research the possibility of hardware changes, and a Newt
> linux loader, maybe even a little brown nosing with past newton project
> leads.

Keep doing what you can. Anything positive could yeild many other
benefits that wen're not even considering. One person could come along,
take some bits and pieces and go a completely different or better
direction. I'll start trying to come up with decent information on what
we've got hardware wise, as I've only seen pages with links to lukewarm
spec sheets at best.

-Jeff

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